Last Call for JetBlue’s Embraer E190—Final Departure Set for September

JetBlue will reportedly operate its final flight on an Embraer E190 on September 4, as the carrier transitions to an all-Airbus fleet.

JetBlue operated its first flight on the 100-seat Embraer E190 nearly twenty years ago, on November 8, 2005. The narrow-body jet from the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer offered JetBlue, its launch customer, improved fuel efficiency, while passengers benefited from all leather seats and larger seatback screens.

Looking Back: A Successful Tenure

JetBlue eventually operated a fleet of more than 60 Embraer E190s. Introduced just five years after the airline’s launch, it was the workhorse of its early network, despite recurrent problems with manufacturing and the model’s GE CF34 engines.

However, recently, the New York-based airline has transitioned away from the plane, now the smallest in its fleet. Last summer, the airline announced the imminent retirement of the E190 as part of its fleet modernization and simplification.

Photo: Courtesy of JetBlue

A year later, just nine JetBlue E190s are still active, with an average age of over 15 years, according to ch-aviation.

In April 2025, the carrier stopped regularly flying the E190 out of its home base at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). However, the E190 has continued to operate out of other airports, primarily JetBlue’s hub, Boston Logan International Airport (BOS).

Those remaining nine planes will operate around 360 flights in July, including high-traffic routes between Boston and Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) and Boston and Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF).

However, all nine E190s will be mothballed by September. JetBlue’s last E190 flight will be from JFK to Boston—coincidentally, a reverse of the inaugural flight the airline made with the model in 2005.

Photo: Embraer E190. Courtesy of JetBlue

JetBlue hasn’t officially announced the retirement of the model, but analysts at Ishrion Aviation have noted that the carrier has no scheduled flights on the aircraft after September 4.

That last flight will be brief: taking off from New York at noon and landing in Boston just one hour and 15 minutes later.

JetBlue Goes All-Airbus

JetBlue is phasing out the Embraer E190 in favor of the Airbus A220, which offers 140 seats and 25 percent better fuel efficiency, plus 50% less noise pollution than previous generations of aircraft.

Photo: Courtesy JetBlue

JetBlue took delivery of its first Airbus A220 in December 2020, and it quickly became integral to its fleet. Today, the airline operates 47 A220-300s and has 53 more on order, making it the second-largest operator of the model behind rival Delta.

With the retirement of its Embraer fleet, JetBlue will operate a fleet exclusively of Airbus planes, a monoculture that simplifies pilot training and reduces maintenance costs.

The E190 isn’t entirely disappearing from the U.S. skies, however. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines continue to operate E190 jets through their regional partners, while Utah-based low-cost carrier Breeze Airways has 10 of the jets.